REASONS UNDERLYING FAILURE TO SEEK DENTAL TREATMENT AMONG NAIROBI UNIVERSITY-STUDENTS

A survey of 272 University of Nairobi undergraduate students was under taken to assess their dental chairside experience and what reasons the y gave for failing to seek dental treatment. Most respondents consider ed dental treatment uncomfortable and painful. The cost of treatment a nd fear arising from information given by other dental patients were i mportant reasons that kept the respondents from visiting a dental clin ic. This paper reveals the need for the dental profession to play a gr eater role in reducing costs of treatment and odontophobia.